Part I. 1789: Before and after. Il catalogo e questo : Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Piano Concerto No. 17, in G Major for Piano and Orchestra, K. 453 (1784) ; His Imperial Highness's sore finger : Ludwig van Beethoven : Trio in B- flat Major for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 97, "Archduke" (1811)
Part II. The romantic century. A quartet that's about nothing : Franz Schubert : String Quartet No. 15 in G Major, Op. posth. 161, D. 887 (1826) ; In the wondrously disturbing month of May ; Robert Schumann : Dichterliebe (Poet's Love), Op. 48 (1840) ; A monument reimagined ; Hector Berlioz : La Damnation de Faust : Légende dramatique, Op. 24 (1846) ; The crown, the cross, and the cruelty of love : Giuseppe Verdi : Don Carlos (1867) ; Almost a tale of joy : Johannes Brahms : String Quintet No. 2, in G Major, Op. 111 (1890)
Part III. The age of uncertainty. Europe, a prophecy? : Jean Sibelius : Symphony No. 4, in A Minor, Op. 63 (1911) ; Creative suffering : Sergei Prokofiev : Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat Major, Op. 84 (1944) ; An ice-cold question mark : Igor Stravinsky : Requiem Canticles for Contralto and Bass Soli, Chorus, and Orchestra (1966).
